Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Teaser Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVLdJdoKK2E

Website Link: http://www.usfirst.org/node/4174

Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Any?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Looks very interesting. Capture the flag??????

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Capture the flag

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Given that Frank mentioned something about the KOP chassis having basic functionality this year in the blog, I'm guessing something to do with offense/ defense like 2006, only with more obstacles.
Battlebots or capture the flag could be it too.

EDIT: From a team mate: "that font used for stronghold is the lord of the rings movie title font"

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Capture the flag confirmed! Or king of the hill.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

If it really is capture the flag related it is going to be an interesting game this year.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

What do you do with strongholds? Attack them and knock them down. Or defend them and repair them.

In what is one of the shortest turnarounds for a gamepiece in recent memory, totes will be stacked near the driver's station (or above--hence the helmets). Your objective is to knock down your opponent's tower of totes (unless the alliance station wall falls down first) while protecting and building your own. Tallest stack wins.


Edit: Also, it looks like Dozer took a year off to get upgraded. This should be interesting. I REALLY want to see what Disney Imagineering can do with that little guy...

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

FRC Battlebots confirmed

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

So... remake of 2014 with looser rules then :P

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

What is on the blueprint that they have?

I feel like that blueprint may have a big hint hidden in it. Or its just a blueprint with strange drawings...

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

It's very unlikely that FIRST will reuse game pieces from last year, especially in a very similar way. It puts rookie and newer teams at a huge disadvantage against teams who already have excellent stacking mechanisms from last year.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Capture the flag?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

If you notice at the end of the end of the video they show the castle for a long time. This castle does NOT have a flag on the flag pole. They show the flag on the castle earlier and there is a flag on the robot when they are working on the robot.
So theory is you have to raise the flag up on the opposite side of the field while the other team does the same.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Capture the flag or king of the mountain or something like that. It could be a team based - defeat the challenge as fast as you can.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

So we're playing 2003 again? :P

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

You haven't seen Stack Attack, have you. On the contrary, I predict that the teams with stacking mechanisms will suddenly be at a HUGE DISadvantage, primarily because stacks are so much easier (and more fun!) to knock down.

And I'm willing to bet that a number of stackers become useless when the exact gamepiece changes...

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Capture the flag or king of the mountain or something like that. It could be a team based game too - defeat the challenge as fast as you can.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Castle => Moat => Water Game Confirmed...

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Looks like FIRST changed their logo to fit the theme.. interesting.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green tents in the intro.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Spitballing some ideas:
6 kids, 6 teams?
"Face the challenge ahead together", all kids dressed the same.
Flag is prominent part of video

Maybe it'll be the first year where instead of Teams vs Team, we have Team vs Field.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I'm excited! I'm looking forward to reading your theories!

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I want it to be CTF but I feel like it is too obvious. If Im going to think a little more out of the box im going to say its a game about throwing small projectiles like cannonballs into other teams castles.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

The video reminds me of those advertisements for various medieval-themed free-to-play games.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

My first thought after seeing the teaser was "Are our robots going to be jousting each other??"

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

If it was Team Vs. Field would there be bumpers? I wouldn't think so, but maybe house robots?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

My FIRST history seems to have failed me.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Wrong game
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabolical_Dynamics

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

The blueprints could be the field design.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Wow, that's weird. They didn't just change their font, which would make sense because FIRST's usual font is a little too stiff to fit in with rest of the game logo; but they also tilted the red triangle, and moved the blue square forwards. Usually its left corner is behind the red triangle's right corner.
Why would they do that? I don't think it makes a difference to the design of the game logo. I'm not saying it's a game hint--I really don't think it is--I just think that's totally weird. Unless they're going to change the official logo to that soon and just haven't gotten around to it yet

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

:O FTA's Vs. Teams...

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

I zoomed in on the blueprints and it is definiely symmetrical, with two towers in the middle and a shoe-looking thing on either side. Here is the link

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Blueprints from the Teaser:
https://imgur.com/shetTkI

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Apparently the blueprint shows the field... or what appears to be the field.

http://imgur.com/shetTkI

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

My guess would be some sort of tower defense game possibly?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

It looks more like an elevation then towers... so possible two hills?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

The blueprints shown in the video remain virtually the same when inverted.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

I think that the shoe-looking thingy is a rope contraption -- it just seems to coil like a rope. Definitely seeing the towers though.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Both sides are racing to put up their flags in the middle of the field at their own respective towers.

And possibly race to take down the other team's flag?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

3 Months to play https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong...01_video_game)

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

So.. fire game?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Just a thought: The video said "Face this task together" and showed a second "team" or "Alliance." Does this mean return of an end game like in 2012 where alliances have to tag-team to do it?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

I imagine that the tower that was shown with the golden rod on the top will be an endgame of sorts - teams have to try and climb to the top to get the rod; whoever summits the tower first gets lots of points.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Raising flags with robots manipulating rope could get interesting...

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

The double lines on the bottom-right and top-left might indicate where driver stations will be. Putting the driver stations like this would allow for a longer, but potentially narrower, playing space for the robots.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Anyone know if the current fields could be re-assembled like this?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Blueprint, transformed to remove most of the perspective effects:

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

At the heels of the shoes there are what look like stick figures. Is that where the human players will be?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Anyone else see the "bp" on the blueprints?

Could "bp" stand for blueprint? This is getting really meta really fast.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Maybe those aren't a b and p, but robots with jousting poles facing away from each other?

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

That sounds expensive. Fun though. And appropriate considering my team's name. :P

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Gas Station game Confirmed!?!?

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I'm really hoping this season's game incorporates game play outside the field. Disney is all about an interactive experience so maybe there will be greater opportunity for involvement off the field that could affect ranking.
FIRST is always about supporting other teams and reaching out to one another to create a better community. The "Build your champion. Rally your kingdom." tag line steps beyond the usual red alliance vs. blue alliance camaraderie we normally see at competition. There is no mention of building a kingdom or alliances, so maybe larger pre-determined alliances (like champ divisions) that span the whole competitions instead of switching alliances throughout?
Theres always the possibility for more then three robot per alliances that could be switched out throughout playoffs putting more focus on creating well rounded alliances (or kingdoms).
But obviously I'm hoping for a stronger defense and strategy heavy game after a season that involved no defense and little diversity in alliance strategy.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Not sure how this video is supposed to get the general public interested and excited about FIRST......

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I'm considering the flag element may be similar to 2011 Logomotion with the minibots. Thoughts?

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Game is on a rotating platform and halfway through, the robots get lifted off the ground, the field flips 180, and puts the robots down.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

That was my first thought. The flag is also included in the FIRST Stronghold logo, and based on past experiences, game pieces are almost always in the logo (except for Recycle Rush). More than likely, we will see the flag on the field somehow.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Either that or a similar climb to 2010.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

What we saw this year with the announcement of the 2015/2016 FTC game was that it was much more complicated than the previous years. With all the strings, pulleys, etc..

We may see the same pattern carry over to FRC... I'm ready.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

It could go either way. I shared this with my good friend who isn't involved in first. She watched it and was a little confused. Then I told her "it's the game hint for the 2016 game" and she then responded saying how she now understands why I'm so excited. So just explain its a game hint and the non foresters can understand the point of the video.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Just a thought, I believe that the alternating trend of even years being ball games and odd years being non-ball games has been in place since 1996-1997, and hasn't been broken since 2001 (arguably 2009). I might be wrong on that, but it seems to me there's a pretty good chance that the main game piece will be a ball.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Ya know, maybe they'll step away from the color-coded bumpers and go back to the flags of '06-'08 for alliance identification.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I think it might be a single flag bearing robot with two defenders/offenders on each side, and end up with something similar to king of the hill. I feel like flags would be a very difficult gamepiece though b/c of entanglement.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Agreed. It didn't even get me excited, and the only reaction I'm seeing is about it being a game hint, not that the video was amazing.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I still cannot figure out why they decided to release the game name. Especially that they released it so early, should we be scared or excited for this game?

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I saw it, and it might be the DayQuil brain fog, but I thought it was the Grand Tourney expansion from Hearthstone. I'd pay so much for a robo-murloc.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

There is a red flag, and a blue flag. Two alliances. We already know substantial changes to the field size and shape are highly unlikely because of gym requirements at a lot of districts.

Pretty clear that the robot has the flag on it and they're all staring at a tower with no flag.

I think it's a game piece transference game, where the flag raises as additional weight in the form of game pieces are added to a platform of some type. I suspect there will be a rule against de-scoring or the field will simply prohibit it. Points awards to how high your flag is at the end of the match, with some bonus if you make it before time is up.

Those game pieces are universal, so both teams can take as many as they can get, but robots can only carry 1 game piece at a time.

Same style of scoring as last year though, where you're not competing with the other team - aggregate scores determine ranking.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Midevil theme could be there to throw us off. Tug of war? Defend the homeland? They show team building bot in daylight. Then robot has functioning lights in a dark sky with lightening. Why lights?? Perhaps played in partial darkness?? And the lightening - Back to the Future ????

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Games are done well in advance of the season.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I think the alliances are going to be bigger this! This one looks epic! Better than the last few games

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Bumpers were confirmed to return a few weeks ago. It's unlikely they'll be different from its many previous incarnations. But for all I know they could color the team numbers and have a solid, neutral color for the cover.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Yes but my point is why release it? The fun of kickoff is finally figuring it all out at once yet for them to release a big part like the name in video form, it takes fun away from kickoff and creates wonder in all of us. Why would they choose this year to release their first game hint with the name itself. In past years it's been jumbles of numbers that none of us can solve yet why this year are they telling us all so soon?

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Source? I believe you but I'm curious.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I think it has an obvious component of offence and defense due to the medieval theme that Disney has created.
I am intrigued by the fact that the blueprint is shown, it seems to good to be true. But I agree that it look as if it depicts a typical FRC field, it seems somewhat symmetrical (even when the image is inverted).

We have like 2.5 months to analyze what FIRST has given us, so hopefully the ideas don't die out fast.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

The goal was to get more excitement outside of FIRST people. A normal hint has no chance to get people into the game, but a teaser video might.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Here's a little bit more done with the Blueprint perspective correction. It really looks like it could be a really rough field sketch.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I thought of this:

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I'll throw in my speculation as well. I'm thinking some sort of asymmetric game-type or field. One alliance is assaulting the other's Stronghold. Possibly switch mid-math ala 2005 or possibly even (though unlikely) playing a whole match on one side.

Capture the flag type game fits . . . but I'm not sure it could be done in a way that isn't just robots spinning their wheels against each other for two and a half minutes.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Seeing as these details aren't reflected on the blue flag, they're probably little more than red herrings. :D

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

My first thought was, is this supposed to be like an animated Engineering version of Game of Thrones?

However, I think this whole Walt Disney Imagineering (henceforth refereed to as WDI or Imagineering) & FIRST partnership is great. As a FRC alum and a giant Disney Parks/WDI fan/geek, I love seeing two things I love come together.

Far warning to all, WDI is just as secretive as the FRC game design committee, but a hell of a lot more elaborate. Having been a Cast Member this past summer, I can tell you that everything there has a very elaborate backstory. During the orientation (On With the Show) for the park I worked at (Hollywood Studios/MGM Studios), they spent 15+ minutes talking about the backstory of the building at the front of the park that serves as Guest Relations, Sid's. Why did they do this? To point out the fact that they care about the story and the details for every singe thing there, whether it's the Guest Relations building, a restaurant (Mama Melrose's), or why there's giant dinosaur footprints near the lake (each of these they spent 15+ minutes talking about).

Why should you care? Because most of the stories they told didn't have much to do with the final product. Similar to FRC clues, you usually look back and realize "Oh, that make sense". So, what I'm saying is that it's pretty unlikely that this teaser has an immediate and direct connection. More than likely, this is just the beginning of an extremely elaborate storyline that we can't even predict where it is going to end.

Oh and just remember to take your time this season and "let the concrete dry". You don't want to end up with a Disco Yeti (sorry WDI, especially Joe Rohde, but I feel like this is a great example of when you should double check everything and take the extra time to make sure it's right).

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Have to say I hope I'm wrong but the more I look at those towers the more they seem to seperate the field. I hope they are just hills or something similar. :eek:

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Thanks. That makes it seem so much easier to read. I feel like the blueprint means nothing major. I don't see anything that really resembles anything. It could have something minor in it but nothing really import at in my opinion

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

A lot of the figures on the blueprint look like music notes, and the lines near the top and bottom like lines in a staff. Maybe there is a message hidden as music?

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

The blue one has half-egg shapes on it. Those are CLEARLY the scoring goals, and these are the game pieces. Wow I can't wait to begin prototyping tomorrow!

Wait - half eggs? THE DRAGONS HAVE HATCHED! CLONES OF EMILIA CLARKE WILL BE A PART OF THE PLAYING FIELD!

FIRE GAME!

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

To review:
Flags
>red and blue same shape, yellow different shape
>>flag bearing alliance identification and co-op?
>tower with blue and yelloe gryphon flag, gone towards end of match, pole, dragon red "vex" flag
>>mini bots climb poles like 2011, robots climb poles, pulley rope system
Other possibilities
>robot suspension
>field barriers
>larger drive team
>triangle based (flag?)
25th anniversary!!

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

-Reserved for the 10% speed teaser that is uploading right now for your dissection-
Edit: here you go, have a field day. https://youtu.be/gEUS6nHKnp4

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

The game hint has been many things, from a poem-style teaser to a fish picture. It simply generates excitement, since without exact understanding of the game there's no real gain to be made by guessing what the hints might mean.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Check this out...

It's not the exact post I first found, but it gets the point across.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

You know what might get people excited about a robotics competition...video of robots competing.

I don't understand FIRST's obsession with promoting everything but the fact that FIRST is freaking ROBOTS PLAYING SPORTS! We don't need themes to make people think that's cool, we need more stuff like RoboLeague. The drama comes from the competition, not the theme.

All that aside: Cool game name, interested to see what it turns out to actually be.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Agreed. If they were trying to appeal to adult engineers and high school students, this wasn't the best way to do it.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Stronghold was the protagonsist's family name in Disney's Sky High. I think that this year's game will favor Technopaths (the Stronghold Family's arch enemy is Royal Pain, a tecnopath, an individual who can control technology through mental processes). Maybe you need to build a pacifier to turn everyone into infants...

OBTW, do you know who did the video? - yes, Disney! Finally, if anyone doubts Disney's resolve at pulling wild back-references, look at the scene where they show the old Sky High yearbook. The photo of Pere Stronghold is very clearly borrowed from The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, a Disney movie from the late 60's.

The primary alternative to technopathy is that the robot will be required, like Will Stronghold, to have both super-strength and the ability to fly.

Good Luck, teams!

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

Totes yes. Other stuff? The knock-em-down stack-em-up thing has a lot to be said for it. Do defense or offense? Build or destroy? Like our efforts in 2013, you can't have it all, and building a machine that will do one thing requires more intense teamwork.

Re: Thoughts on the teaser?
 

It wouldn't make sense because the drivers station would be blocking the audience view. That is assuming the field is oriented as normal. If it were rotated 90 degrees it would impact layout at many sites potentially making basketball courts difficult to work on and it would still impact the view from the stands.

That said, a layout like that wouldn't be any more difficult to build than the 8 sided layout we had this year.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

The Blog post title was "The Teaser is Coming"... I was so to posting this. What a missed opportunity...

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

I don't know how much this was actually aimed at people who aren't in FIRST. It doesn't explain FIRST at all. I think that Frank just wanted to make a tent pun. :P

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Hmmm... the thing with the blueprint... doesn't that all seem a bit too obvious? After all, we do have 2.5 months until Kickoff, and in the past years, the hints have been pretty obscure. It can't be that easy... Still excited, although, I am admittedly bummed that they told us the name so early.

Re: Official FIRST Stronghold Teaser!
 

Okay! After watching about 17 times, I think I can agree with most about the capture the flag idea. Maybe it'll be like racing to complete a checklist ASAP and then hanging you team flag high. Griffins vs. Dragons

#SorrynotSorry Team 1796 RoboTigers